Top Essays USB Drive

This USB drive contains 100 of the top This I Believe audio broadcasts of the last ten years, plus some favorites from Edward R. Murrow's radio series of the 1950s. It's perfect for personal or classroom use! Click here to learn more.

I woke up this morning and realized that today I was 32. Thirty two?? No way, not me! Didn’t I just turn 21… like last week? Where has the time gone? I look in the mirror and realize where the time has gone, it’s marched right across my face. Just thinking about the number 32 made me cringe a little. Then I thought about all of the things I have not done in my life followed by the many that I have accomplished. Chances and breaks many people only dream about have been brought my way. I have usually been smart enough to see them for what they are and seize them; and although I have let some pass me by, I really have no regrets. I have set goals and accomplished them. I am still setting goals and working toward their finale. I also realized that even though 32 years have marched on… right across my face, I love those little lines and few gray hairs I have. I realize that each one of them represents something very important that I have done in my life. I realize that 32 is not so old, so I tell myself, “young woman, you have much more to accomplish and many more opportunities are coming your way; so get up out of bed and face all of the wonderful things coming your way!”

Today is another new day in my life. Every day is fresh and should be looked at as new start and another opportunity. Prosperity is not handed to you, you make it. You make it with your actions and your decisions. And by prosperity, I do not mean financial, I am talking about prosperity of the spirit. From this moment on, and from each and every morning that God so graciously grants me; where consciousness floats in and another new day of my life begins, I will not lay in bed and think about what has passed, I will think about what lies ahead. From this moment onward and for the rest of my life, the first thought in my head upon waking will be, “CARPE DIEM!” Then I will do just that…go out and seize the new day I have been granted and reap all of the opportunities it holds within its hours.

Essay of the Week

A chance encounter in a coffee shop introduced writer Rachel Richardson to a man who had many stories to tell. Ms. Richardson came to understand that everyone has a story, and our lives can be enriched by listening to the stories of others.Click here to read her essay.